turmeric - not just for curries anymore

A brief rundown on this yummy spice...turmeric!

- may pack more healing power than any other spice
- aspirin of Asia, where it has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to heal wounds and treat inflammatory illnesses like arthritis
- contains curcumin, a compound that is both a powerful anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. - non-toxic.
- curcumin might help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Teams at UCLA, Harvard and in Japan subsequently discovered that curcumin might fight Alzheimer's in several ways.
- curcumin may help fight many cancers - 40 animal studies that suggest curcumin may have a strong protective effect against common cancers such as breast, colon, lung, prostate and skin.

about 1/4tsp a day is considered completely safe - to do list for 2009!

ginger - easing the tum

i am in the throes of the flu - picked up from callum who picked it up from his cousins at easter. argh, my mind feels like a foggy spot - clear thoughts are hard to come by.

a spice that i have used more in the past several years is ginger, and mainly for its therapeutic effects.

ginger = best friend of a pregnant, nauseated woman? possibly, but ginger is good for so many reasons.

and you know i'm going to write about them...

some of the health issues ginger has been used for over the years include: digestive ailments, arthritis, infectious diseases, fever, high blood pressure, pain and muscle aches.

ginger, used therapeutically, is one of the few spices that have no contraindications for pregnant women. and i have taken in a lot of ginger tea in the past while i was pregnant.

ginger can be added to a bath to help with colds or flus, and even to help reduce inflammation.

an interesting article about this spice - Ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to die, U-M researchers find

cinnamon - spices of life

cinnamon's turn:

as an essential oil -
- known as an aphrodisiac
- anti-depressant
- reduces pain and frequency of headaches
- relaxes muscles, painful joints, menstrual cramps
- increases circulation
- enhances the action of enzymes - so helps with metabolism
- anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial
- immune system booster

1/2tsp cinnamon a day lowered blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes, published in Diabetes Care in 2003. The same study found it also lowered cholesterol.

i love cinnamon and add it to lentils and in the coffee maker, or with lemon juice and hot water.
so many benefits and ways to cook with it.